Wolf Weekly Wrap-Up

Helicopter Gunning Kills 23 Wolves in Idaho: On Friday, February 28, Idaho Department of Fish and Game announced that, working with Wildlife Services, they had gunned down 23 gray wolves from a helicopter in northern Idaho’s Lolo elk zone near the Idaho/Montana border. The state agency said this killing was necessary to boost elk harvest levels in the area despite independent scientific peer reviewers’ observations that habitat changes, not predators, have been the major factor in this localized elk herd decline.

Wildlife Services is currently the object of a formal review being conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Inspector General for effectiveness, justifiability and transparency, and Defenders is requesting a moratorium on Wildlife Services’ killings of wolves and other top predators until the Inspector General has completed its audit of the agency’s programs. To help support our work protecting wolves in Idaho and across the U.S., click here.

Urge Secretary Jewell to Abandon Gray Wolf Delisting Proposal — Call Your Representative By March 14: Congressman Peter DeFazio is heading up efforts to rally his fellow congressmen into action to save America’s gray wolves. After an independent panel of expert scientists said the Service did not use the best available science in their delisting proposal, Congressman DeFazio authored a letter to Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell requesting that she withdraw the current delisting proposal because it is premature and unjustified. Thank you to all Defenders members who have already called their representatives urging them to sign this letter. Already, 31 representatives have signed the letter, and we have until March 14th to ask for additional signers. You can help by calling your local representative today. Secretary Jewell has the power to change the deadly direction that wolves are headed and we are hopeful she will listen to these legislators.

Washington Wildlife Agency Urged to End Support for Abolishing Federal Wolf Protections: Eleven conservation organizations representing hundreds of thousands of Washington residents sent a letter to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife today urging the state agency to rescind its support for stripping wolves of federal Endangered Species Act protections. The agency has repeatedly expressed support for dropping federal safeguards, most recently in a letter sent to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Dec. 13, 2013.

The delisting runs counter to the best available science and ignores the values of the vast majority of Washington residents who want to see federal wolf protections maintained. In a statement to the press on this issue, Defenders Senior Representative of the Rockies and Plains, Suzanne Stone, said: “Washington state should withdraw their support of the Service’s delisting proposal and instead advocate that the Service follow the best available science, as required by law, to chart a sustainable recovery path for wolves in Washington and throughout the U.S.”

The Latest on Idaho Governor Otter’s Wolf Control Board: Legislation to authorizeGov. Otter’s “Wolf Control Board” is still being considered by the Idaho Senate Resources and Environment Committee; the Committee will vote on the legislation in the coming days. If passed in its current condition, funds for the wolf control board will support lethal wolf management strategies exclusively. Defenders staff continue to petition state legislators, requesting they modify the legislation to include nonlethal control methods as options. Please look for updates on this issue here next week.

17 Responses to “Wolf Weekly Wrap-Up”

STOP the senceless killings of our wolves the aerial killings is rediculous I can’t believe you’d stoup so low as to basically have target practice on our wolves how dare you to do this to our innocent wolves your sickos in my book there’s no ryhem or reason for this behavior live and let live mother nature has a way of equaling things out naturally so just leave them alone once and for all this is isanity really it is

I just wanted to say thank you all for helping our defenseless animals, that are slaughtered everyday! I love wolves especially, but I have just signed up to donate money every month to be used to help what species you decide….I wish it could be much much more!! when I have more incoming monies, I will upgrade my donations. Thank you again for helping the beautiful wolves and all the aminals you save…..God Bless you all….. Janice OBrien

These wolves have had to fight all their lives to stay alive and some pen pusher decides to hire. Sickos to wipe them out again and they must be sick to kill a beautiful animal in cold blood let them run free they deserve to they have as much right as us to live if not more

Please rethink your position about these Beautiful Iconic Wolves , Do some research, listen to the REAL EXPERTS about these beautiful “INNOCENT” ANIMALS. all this violence ~What are you thinking/or not!!?? For Humanity Sake Please Stop the INSANITY. Sincerely,
Kelly A. Grant

Once again they take the easiest solution instead of the right solution to wildlife control. Killing the preditors means next year they have an excuse to increase the hunting limit so hunters can kill more elk. The Wildlife department is more concerned with helping hunters than wildlife.

i believe these animals haveto be controled through hunting and trapping due to the fact that they have no natural predators just like bears and mountain lions if these animals arent controled by humans the elk,deer and other animals could become endangered so controling them through conservation is good for al wildlife contrary to some people think that hunters and fisherman are detramental to wildlife but without conservation and the money and time hunters and outdoorsman put into conservation and stocking of elk turkeys ducks pheasants the list goes on would these predators beable to survive without these food sources so without hunting conservation and the moneis and time that comes from them there would defanantly be alot more animals on the endangered speicies list just something to think about.

You really have to wonder just how ignorant and completely devoid of compassion the killers in Idaho are. What kind of mindless simpleton and gutless jerk would even consider shooting any animal from a helicopter? Well, I guess we have our answer, look no further then Idaho.

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